I was an orientation week advisor my junior and senior years of college, which meant each year, my co-advisors and I led a group of 8 freshman through all the O-week activities in sweltering Texas-in-August heat.
Although each O-week group was meant to be a little family for the week of orientation activities, the idea was that the family ties would continue past O-week and become a support group for the rest of the year. Does it surprise you that I took serious responsibility in showing the love for my groups through baked goods? No? Huh.
Although each of my 16 freshman hold a special place in my heart, there were some difficult ones. Namely, one that didn’t like chocolate. She was a total vanilla person. Completely.
Needless to say, I had to get out of my comfort zone.
One of the things she DID like and actually requested, was cornbread. By now, you’d think I’d be an expert…but at the time, I made two fatal mistakes. I decided to put sprinkles in the batter, for funfetti cornbread and I was out of eggs, so I subbed in flax eggs. Two moves that seemed like a great idea at the time.
The greatness of those idea was quickly rescinded when I saw the look on her face as she took her first bite. Could it really be that bad? Someone else took a bite and was like, “Valerie really loves you for eating that.” I tried it. It was that bad.
To this day, I don’t know what went so horribly wrong, but it didn’t taste remotely like cornbread. My entire O-week group cracked up. I nearly died.
After that experience, I was scarred from using flax eggs for a long time. But I put aside my fear to experiment with these pancakes. I wanted a nice, plain, not-too-buttery pancake to serve as the backdrop for these cookie-studded pancakes, and turned to my go-to vegan pancake recipe by vegan goddess Isa Chandra Moskowitz.
I loved the results. I used powdered sugar instead of regular sugar for more puff, removed some excess flour and water and lowered the oil a tad. I crumbled in some vegan homemade chocolate wafers (I veganized these) I’d made for another project. They were thick, marbled with cookie and tender. And they didn’t taste a THING like flax.
Notes
What the heck is a flax egg? A flax egg is a type of egg replacer:
1 tablespoon of ground flax seed mixed with 3 tablespoons of warm water = 1 egg
Typically, the mixture is supposed to thicken a bit, but if the mixture ends up simply separating, just whisk it again before you add it to the recipe. I’ve found I get the best results using warm water rather than cold, but I think it works either way. Isa doesn’t quite use flax eggs here in the traditional way that I learned, but it definitely worked!
Recipe subs: Theoretically, you can sub in one egg for the flaxseed. I can’t vouch for these results. It might make the pancake a little richer or denser, and my objective was to make a neutral vanilla backdrop that would serve as the “cream” in the pancakes. I don’t care if that doesn’t make any sense. I think using all all-purpose flour would make for more aesthetically pleasing pancakes, but you can hardly taste the white whole wheat.
You do not, of course, have to use homemade chocolate wafers for these. If you crumble up a few regular oreos into these–guess what? They’re still vegan!
Vegan Cookies ‘n Cream Pancakes
Adapted from PPK
Yield: ~14 small pancakes
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup almond milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
2 scant tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
~6-8 oreos or homemade chocolate wafers, for crushing and sprinkling
In a small mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center.
Measure the milk into a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Add vinegar and ground flax seeds, and use a fork to whisk until foamy. This will take a minute or so.
Pour the milk mixture into the center of the dry ingredients. Add the water, canola oil and vanilla and use a fork to mix until you get a thick, lumpy batter. Fold in crushed oreos or homemade wafers.
Preheat a pan over medium-low heat and let the batter rest for 5-10 minutes.
Lightly grease the pan with oil. Add 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until puffed and taut-looking at the edges. Flip the pancakes, and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Pancake should be about an inch thick, and golden brown. Top with a powdered sugar glaze, syrup, honey, cream cheese frosting, whatever floats your boat. And more crumbled cookies, of course!
These pancakes, in particular, are best the day they are served.
See my other Pancake Fridays!
Pancake Fridays: Basic Dutch Baby
Pancake Fridays: Cornbread Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Lemon Bar Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Peanut Butter Carrot Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Pie Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Pumpkin Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Red Velvet Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Tarte Tatin Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Tres Leches Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Whole Wheat Pear and Chocolate Pancakes
Kunle @ The Pancake Princess and the Protein Prince
why you you you you you em. Mixed me up some powdered sugar, almond milk, and crumbled oreos for a tasty glaze.
erika
That sounds like that would make an awesome topper, Kunle!
The Healthy Flavor
Oh girl I’m loving you Today after seeing two vegan posts in a row, lol!! 🙂 these look soooo yummy!! Oh you wait…I’m posting my vegan pancakes this week too!! They are fluffy and delish and don’t taste like flax either!! These are gorgeous and creative. I love that you adapted the recipe.I love the idea of powdered sugar….I’ve thought of doing that before too but never actually done it…good to know it worked out well. I’ll do that next time. I have another trick I do for mine because you know as we’ve discussed before…most vegan pancakes SUCK, lol!! I am loving these and need to make ASAP!! Your blog is truly one of my favorites!
erika
Aww thanks Brandi! Haha I know, I’m on a vegan kick! I am so excited to see yours and discover your pancake trick!!!
And THANK YOU you are so sweet! You, Chocolate Covered Katie, and Oh She Glows are all pretty much tied for my favorite vegan blog :))
The Healthy Flavor
Awww that’s so sweet and I’ll gladly take that compliment!! I’m sure my pancakes won’t be all that impressive to you though…you’re the pancake master :). They turned out delicious though…certain ingredients I use made them even yummier than my old “regular” pancakes. I’ll be posting it Friday at the latest… I’m making these cookies n cream ones this weekend! I have to get the chocolate wafers first! 🙂
erika
Eeek I am nervous but excited for you to try these!! Let me know if you like them…don’t let me know if you don’t. …just kidding!! I want to know either way, of course 🙂 And I look forward to trying your pancakes!!
The Healthy Flavor
Guess what?!! I finally made them today!! They were super yummy and thick. I adapted the recipe because as you know, I’m making everything refined-sugar free and oil-free…but they still turned out delicious! Wait til you see what I used instead of oil ;). I’ll do a post on it later this week. I did my “trial” today and will remake in the morning and take photos. I also made my own “Oreo” cookie crumbles. Just kind of winged it..made it up lol. I didn’t want to buy a bag of Oreos or a box of cookies so I just made some chocolate cookie crumbles specifically to throw in the pancakes….they aren’t technically cookies persay. 🙂
erika
Phew, I am so glad they turned out well for you!! And I can’t WAIT to see your modifications–made up cookie crumbles are such a good idea because like you, there’s probably a lot of people who don’t have wafers on hand and don’t want to buy a whole bag or make a whole batch. So excited!!
The Healthy Flavor
Just posted about them!! Here! Thanks again girl 🙂
http://thehealthyflavor.com/2013/01/14/cookies-n-cream-pancakes-oil-free-refined-sugar-free/
erika
Ahh Brandi you are awesome!! So excited to go read your post :))
Alex Katzen
I love your blog! These treats look so delicious! 🙂
erika
Thanks so much Alex 🙂 I’ll definitely be looking at your blog for healthy tips/healthy eating inspiration!
Christine @ Cooking Crusade
Wow – cookies and cream pancakes!? How have I never seen these before! I just looove the ice cream 🙂 And these look great vegan!
erika
Aww thanks Christine 🙂 I was excited to make such a yummy vegan pancake!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I’ve been so curious about using flax seed as a substitute for eggs! Thanks for the motivation!!! Love how these look, Erika!
erika
Yay! I’ve found that flax eggs do kind of throw off the flavor of some baked goods, but I didn’t notice it at all in these pancakes. I think flax eggs are great in banana breads or other quickbreads where you might throw in other whole grains anyway!
And thanks 🙂
Bailey Bakes
Yummy! Another great idea! You’ll be proud of me – last night we had our BlogKC meetup at a vegan restaurant. It was so good! Even the dessert was to. die. for.
erika
Aww yeah I saw some of your instagram photos as I was trying to instagram the anniversary dinner I cooked loll. That sounds SO GOOD!!! Why don’t I live in KC?? Haha.
Stephanie
Yum! These look so thick and substantial, and I love anything with chocolate cookies. I had no idea that Oreos were vegan… good to know!
yummychunklet
The chocolate wafers put these pancakes over the top!
gottagetbaked
I know that you’re the Pancake Princess, Erika, but how in the heck do you get your pancakes so thick and fluffy?! No matter how many times I visit your blog and drool over your gorgeous creations, I’m still in complete awe of how perfect your pancakes are. I used to be obsessed with Hershey’s cookies ‘n cream chocolate bars – there was a period I’d eat on a day in high school. I love that you used this flavour combination for your pancakes today. I also learned something new – I’d never heard of flax eggs before! This is totally something I need to incorporate into my own baking. Btw, I would’ve loved it if you were my orientation leader – baked goods? Hells yeah!
erika
Nancy you are too much. Hahaha. I’ll let you in on a little secret: if you put about a 1:1 ratio of dry ingredients to wet or even a little less wet than dry, your pancakes will be SUUUPER puffy. If you put in more wet than dry, that’s when they start spreading and getting thin. But a doughy batter is key to little puffers 🙂
Omg hershey’s cookies ‘n cream bars would be an AMAZING pancake mix-in.
And yes, please try flax! Flax eggs are great if you’re out of eggs and don’t want to run to the store (in select recipes, of course…)
Between you, me and Leah, we could have had way too much fun in my o-week group…
sallys baking addiction
Hi Miss Erika! These are the fluffiest, most gorgeous pancakes I have EVER seen. You know, I’ve been searching for a pancake recipe like this to make for my boyfriend. Neither of us are vegan, but I don’t think I could pass this recipe up!!!
erika
Aww thanks Sally! I definitely want to make these for my boyfriend too, someday soon! I bet these would be great non-vegan as well…actually, now I’m super curious what these would be like with an egg instead of a flax egg!
petit4chocolatier
These are over the top delectable! Love the summary & recipe; but absolutely love the pictures of the pancakes 🙂
erika
Thanks so much Judy!
Choc Chip Uru
As much as I loved reading your story, I died when I saw the first photo 😉
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
erika
Haha thanks Uru 🙂
Leah
What a cute story about you being a freshman orientation leader! Despite your cornbread mishap, I still would’ve loved being in your O-group haha.
Very interesting about the flax egg too – I’ve never heard of it!
erika
Haha thanks Leah. I would have loved to have you!! I feel like we would’ve gotten along famously 🙂
Yeah, flax eggs were a new oddity to me too back in the day, but it’s interesting to see how they actually work!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
omg omg um um yum yum yum!!! EEEEEE love cookies n cream anything and these are pancakes yet somehow vegan and kinda healthy and I LOVE EM!
erika
Lol I love YOU and your enthusiasm!!! These are totally bomb. I was excited to reaffirm my suspicious that oreos are indeed vegan!